1. Field
The invention relates to control of power consumption in electronic circuits, and, more particularly, to control of power consumption in a display device.
2. Background Information
Computer systems typically employ a display device for displaying visual information, such as text characters, images, icons, and graphics. A computer system may be any device comprising a processor to execute instructions and a memory to store the instructions. The display device is typically coupled to the computer system by way of a cable which provides signal paths for data and control signals between the computer system and the display device. The computer system may execute a program which results in data signals being transmitted to the display device over the cable. The data signals may represent text characters, images, etc. for conveying visual information to a user of the computer system. As used herein, the term xe2x80x9cprogramxe2x80x9d may refer to any form of packaging (that is, organization and/or grouping) of software instructions. The term program may refer to executable programs, statically or dynamically linked libraries, applets, and many other forms of instructions packaging and organization well known in the art.
During periods of inactivity on the computer system, when no new signals are being generated for display, it may be desirable to reduce the power consumed by the display device. During periods of inactivity, the display device may place some or all of its circuits into a state in which these circuits consume less power than they do during operation at other times. However, even in reduced power states the display device circuits may consume substantial power. Although the display device may detect a period of inactivity, when no new data signals are being made available over the cable from the computer system, there is currently no convenient mechanism for the display to detect other conditions under which placing its circuits into a reduced power state would be appropriate. For example, the display device may not be capable of detecting when the user of the computer system presses a particular sequence of keys on a keyboard input device, the key sequence indicating that the user will no longer be interacting with the computer system in the immediate future. In this situation, the display device could be placed into a power state during which it consumes virtually no power without inconveniencing the user. However, the display device has no way of detecting the key sequence. Thus, there exists a continuing need for a mechanism by which a computer system may place a display device into a reduced power state in response to events which take place upon a computer system.
A method includes applying a power control signal from a computer system to a display device, and maintaining the display device in a first reduced power consumption state while the power control signal is applied.